Vision of Saigon as the capital of Indochina

In the work French - Indochina Architecture - Traces of "Saigon - Pearl of the Far East" (just released by the National Archives Center 2 and Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House), author Phuc Tien has summarized the process of building modern Saigon, from the end of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century, with typical architectures that have both French and local elements, collectively called French - Indochina Architecture . Through that, it can be seen that the unique landscape and architecture are an important part of the city's heritage. We invite readers to join the "backpacking" trip to old Saigon through a series of articles excerpted from this book.

The Saigon city logo was born in 1870 with typical images of a river, merchant ships and two strong striped tigers. The picture shows the circular design from 1942.

For a long time, La Perle de l'Extrême-Orient , or Pearl of the Far East , has been the affectionate way foreigners refer to Saigon. That French name has been affectionately Vietnamized as the Pearl of the Far East .

In 1881, lawyer Jules Blancsubé, the first mayor of Saigon, gave a speech at the Maritime and Colonial Association. At that time, Saigon had undergone 20 years of transformation from an Asian feudal city to a modern city in the French colonial system. Lawyer Blancsubé believed that when the whole of Indochina formed a seamless waterway and railway system, Saigon, as the hub of that system, would become the Pearl of the Far East .

This statement reflects a feasible vision. Because the French Empire, after invading Saigon, made efforts to build this place into a leading center of transportation and trade for the whole of Indochina and the surrounding area. In fact, from March 1860, Saigon Commercial Port began to receive ships from all countries. At the same time, the trans-European - Asian sea route, from Europe through the Middle East to China, Japan and North America, added a stopover in Saigon. The city also had the Ba Son factory, which was a facility for building and repairing civilian and military ships for France and many other countries.

In 1870, telecommunications between Saigon and France and European and American countries were established via undersea telegraph cables. In 1881, the Saigon - Cho Lon railway began, followed by the Saigon - My Tho railway 3 years later. From then on, plans were made to open a railway across Indochina, up to China. In the 1930s, when world aviation developed, the Jakarta - Saigon - Paris flight route was launched. With its convenient location and modern infrastructure, combined with professional management staff, Saigon quickly became the international economic hub of Indochina.

Brand attracts investment and tourism

When reporting on the speech of lawyer Blancsubé, the Paris newspaper L'Avenir Diplomatique - Diplomatic Future said that they cited the British newspaper Time - The Era . Thus, the name Saigon - The Pearl of the Far East began to spread in Western countries from that time. In the 1920s - 1930s, the title La Perle de l'Extrême-Orient appeared in publications introducing Indochina, as a new and attractive destination of the world. Using the beautiful phrase Saigon - The Pearl of the Far East is a way to "brand" and attract international businessmen and tourists.

Map of Indochina railways and seaports in 1933 starting from Saigon going straight from Hue to Hanoi and up to Yunnan (China). This route has many planned branches to Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.

Photo: National Library of France

The last paragraph of the article in the newspaper L'Avenir diplomatique published on April 7, 1881 in Paris has the detail Saigon - Pearl of the Far East

Photo: National Library of France

For Vietnamese people, as early as 1918, in the Nam Phong newspaper, journalist Pham Quynh mentioned the name La Perle de l'Extrême-Orient which he translated as "The Treasure of the East". He said Saigon had the atmosphere of a "great metropolis". At this time, the British called Hong Kong and Singapore the Pearl of Far East . The Americans also called Manila of the Philippines with a similar beautiful name. However, no one has a monopoly on the title of the Pearl of the Far East because nature has given us many pearls, not just one, and each pearl has its own sparkling beauty.

"The Pearl of Saigon" has distinct characteristics, first of all expressed through its landscape and architecture as well as urban planning, of which there are still many vestiges to enjoy and experiences to learn. (continued)

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/vien-kien-sai-gon-la-thu-phu-toan-dong-duong-185250409001508395.htm